RR2 - A guide to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit
Students
- Housing Benefit (HB)
- Period of study
- Council Tax Benefit
- Loan and grant income
- Parental contributions (covenant income)
- Other income
- Loans from the Student Loans Company
- Access funds
Housing Benefit
Most full-time students are not entitled to claim Housing Benefit (HB) during the whole of their course, including the summer vacations and any periods of temporary absence from the course of study. However, if you are a part-time student or if you are in one of the exempt categories below, then you may be able to get help with your rent. If you are on a Training For Work Scheme and getting a training allowance you are not classed as a student for HB purposes.
Full-time students who can claim Housing Benefit
- Lone parents.
- People who get Income Support or income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) – if you are getting these benefits you will automatically be entitled to claim HB.
- Disabled students (includes students who have a disability premium included in their applicable amount and those who have been awarded a Disabled Students’ Allowance by reason of their deafness).
- Students aged under 19 – following a course of further education (but not higher education).
- Students with a partner who is also a full-time student, and who have dependent children.
- Students with dependent children – if you are solely responsible for a child boarded out with you by a local council or voluntary organisation (including foster parents).
- Students who take a break in their studies, with the agreement of their school or college, because of a spell of illness, or of caring for someone who is ill or disabled, and that period has now ended.
- Pensioners – if you are aged 60 or more.
If you are in any of the above groups, your local council will be able to give you further details. If you are able to claim HB, your application will be subject to the following rules. Some of these rules only apply during the ‘period of study’
How your Housing Benefit is paid
Your local council may choose to pay your HB each term. If your HB is more than £2 a week, you can choose to have it paid fortnightly. See for more detail on how HB is paid. [HB Reg 92(7)]
Council Tax Benefit
Council Tax Benefit (CTB) is not normally available for students. The exceptions are:
- vulnerable students, such as disabled students and lone parents
- part-time students
- couples where one partner is not a student.
Students who are liable to pay the council tax may claim second adult rebate (SAR).
Couples where one partner is a registered student
Example:
A couple with no children and no capital, where the wife is a registered student with a net loan and grant income of £55 a week and the husband earns £64.15 a week. The weekly council tax liability is £8.00.
| A – council tax liability | £8.00 | |
| B – maximum benefit | £8.00 | |
| C – applicable amount for couple | £85.75 | |
| D – joint net weekly income: |
loan and grant income earnings less disregard total |
£55.00 £70.90 £10.00 £115.90 |
| E – excess income (D-C) | £30.15 | |
| F – apply taper (20% of E) | £6.03 | |
| G – benefit entitlement for couple (B-F) is, therefore, £1.97 per week. | ||
Students and Second Adult Rebates (SAR)
Normally a property occupied solely by students will not be liable for council tax. Unless a full-time student is in a vulnerable group, they will not be able to claim main CTB. However, they may be entitled to a SAR.
Example:
| A – Annual council tax liability (after transitional reductions) | £300 |
| B – 25% discount since only one non-discounted person resides in the dwelling | £75 |
| C – Annual tax liability after the award of the discount | £225 |
| D – Daily council tax for SAR purposes £300 ÷ 365 | £0.821918 |
| E – Daily SAR where the second adult is on Income Support (25% of D) | £0.205479 |
The figure at E is converted to an annual figure by multiplying by 365, giving a SAR of £75.
The annual council tax liability in this case will therefore be £150.
Loan and grant income
The grant money you get is generally paid to cover the period you are studying. If it does not cover this period your council, or Student Awards Agency for Scotland, will tell you the period it does cover.
If you are eligible for a loan or have been awarded a grant the council will assume that these amounts are paid, whether they are actually paid or not. [HB 59 & 64 and CTB 46 & 51]
The money you receive in your loan is your income for the period between the beginning of September and the end of June and is divided by the number of weeks in that period to give a weekly amount.
If you receive a dependants grant this will be taken into account over the same period as your loan unless you also receive, or only receive, a grant towards your personal maintenance. In these cases check with your local council to see how your grant will be treated.
Because much of your loan is meant for essential educational items, some of the grant is ignored when working out your income for HB/CTB. The following elements of your loan or grant are not counted: [HB 59 & 64 and CTB 46 & 51]
- tuition and examination fees
- any disability allowance in your grant
- the cost of term-time residential study away from your college
- the Two Homes Grant – given when you have to maintain another home away from college
- an allowance for books and equipment
- travel expenses.
If you get more money because you have dependants overseas, the extra you get will be ignored. Those dependants cannot then be taken into account as part of your household when your local council works out your HB.
If you started your course before 1 September 1998, check with your local council to see how your grant will be treated.
Students and partners
Your grant may have been reduced to allow for your partner’s income because your partner can make a contribution to your expenses. An amount – equal to that contribution – is then ignored when the council works out your joint income for HB/CTB. If a student is required to contribute to his own grant income, an equivalent amount is disregarded from the income used to assess that contribution. [HB 66 and CTB reg 53]
Other income
Other income – for example money from a grandparent – will be treated in the same way as grant income if it is intended for expenditure that is needed on the course. If the income is not intended for expenditure on the course, it is treated under the normal rules for income. [HB Regs 63, CTB Reg 50]
Loans from the Student Loans Company
The maximum loan available to you will be taken into account regardless of whether you have borrowed up to your limit or not. The loan will be divided by the number of weeks between the beginning of September and the end of June to arrive at a weekly figure for assessment purposes. Up to £10 a week of the loan may be ignored. [HB Regs 63, CTB Reg 50]
Access funds
These are discretionary payments made by educational establishments to students who are facing financial hardship.
The amount of the payment to be taken into account will depend on how it is to be paid and what the payment is for. Some payments from the funds can be disregarded in full.